Today I saw a curb alert that really caught my eye and got me thinking. It was a very large nativity scene painted on a thick and sturdy wood board. I thought of my closet Catholicism , crucifixes hidden under beds, a rosary tucked away in a purse pocket zipped up tight, a scapula pushed in the very back of the top drawer of the jewelry armoire. But this, where could I possibly hide this? The size, it’s just so big. So, I drive by, and leave baby Jesus, his mother Mary, Joseph, and a few shepards there on the side of the road. Unavoidable, really.
I was able to add to my collection on Sunday. I was walking the isles of the Goodwill after I had made my donation at the side door, when I spotted a crucifix. It is tarnished and made of metal. It is a thin cross. Yes, yellow sticker! Fifty percent off!! When I go to ring out at the register, the cashier informs me the 50 percent off on yellow does not apply to housewares, which is what the cross is, a housewares item. Well, now I’m going to have to take the crucifix home with me, even at the full price of $3.99. I cannot put it down just because it is not half off. So, under the bed my newest crucifix goes, along with the others.
My closet Catholicism also came out as I rode quickly in a work friend’s car, just for like 2 minutes between buildings on our campus. She has a glass beaded rosary on her mirror, with the cross missing. I say nothing, but reach out and touch where the cross was at one time hanging. She went on to say she had looked everywhere in her car for the little cross, and she just didn’t feel right about taking the rosary down. Even with my Catholicism in the darkness, I could relate to her quandary. The rosary was put up. It really cannot be taken down. But, it is missing a big part, Jesus on the crucifix. She is concerned about this loss. I find myself looking all over the floor with my eyes to get the cross back to where it belongs. I wish I could find it. But, it stays lost.